Instructions

ZOOM IN by clicking on the page. A slider will appear, allowing you to adjust your zoom level. Return to the original size by clicking on the page again.

MOVE the page around when zoomed in by dragging it.

ADJUST the zoom using the slider on the top right.

ZOOM OUT by clicking on the zoomed-in page.

SEARCH by entering text in the search field and click on "In This Issue" or "All Issues" to search the current issue or the archive of back issues
respectively.
.

PRINT by clicking on thumbnails to select pages, and then press the
print button.

SHARE this publication and page.

ROTATE PAGE allows you to turn pages 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.Click on the page to return to the original orientation. To zoom in on a rotated page, return the page to its original orientation, zoom in, and
then rotate it again.

CONTENTS displays a table of sections with thumbnails and descriptions.

ALL PAGES displays thumbnails of every page in the issue. Click on
a page to jump.

international Including The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Independent and AAP Isolated rebels fight on WEST PAPUA: West Papuan villagers still cling to hunter-gatherer traditions. Armed mainly with bows and arrows, the only guns they possess have been captured from Indonesian security posts. A sound of gunshots filled the air as we clambered through thick undergrowth to a clearing. There, perched on a steep mountainside surrounded by lush rainforest, was a breathtaking sight. Villagers charged around chanting in a state of high excitement. The village leader, dressed in little more than a wooden penis koteka and a feathered hat, solemnly called everyone to attention. Then two men stepped forward to raise the outlawed national flag. A wild pig had been slaughtered, and we settled down to a feast with spinach and sweet potatoes. Around us, a ragged bunch of men sat watching, smiling and looking on as they smoked the locally grown tobacco. Armed with bamboo spears, bows and arrows, (as well as a few old AK47 assault rifles) 400 rebel fighters are hidden here in one of the remotest places on earth, the East Timor’s independence from Indonesia draws near, this other troubled province of the vast Indonesian archipelago looks set to renew its bid for freedom. It lies 250km north of Australia, on the western half of the island of New Guinea. For more than 40 years it has been waging a small-scale war against the occupying Indonesian army. Human-rights groups estimate Papuan tribesmen. jungle highlands of West Papua. Some of the soldiers were dressed in old T-shirts and combat fatigues, but most wore little more than wooden kotekas (penis gourds), their hair and limbs decorated with garlands of leaves. The AK47s had been stolen, they explained, during a raid on an Indonesian security post, after a nearby village had been attacked leaving 45 people dead, more than half of them women and children. “These guns were used against our people,” one of the men said, brandishing a rifle. “Look at them, they are US-supplied. What more evidence do you need that Western-supplied weapons are being used by the Indonesian military to kill West Papuans? We are defending our land and people against this illegal occupier that is killing so many of us”. As the 10th anniversary of that the Indonesian security forces have killed as many as 200,000 native Papuans since the territory was absorbed into Indonesia in 1963. Yet this is a forgotten war, due in part to an Indonesian-imposed ban on foreign media entering the region. Becoming the first western journalist to reach the stronghold of the outlawed West Papua liberation army – the Organisasi Papua Merdeka in the remote central highlands of the country, involved evading Indonesian army road-blocks, trekking through inhospitable jungle terrain, and a series of clandestine rendezvous. Home to over 300 different tribes, the territory is one of the most remarkable places on earth. Most Papuans live subsistence or hunter-gatherer lives that have changed little in centuries. Between them these tribes speak some 125 languages. There are snow-capped mountains, breathtaking highlands and a coastline of mangrove swamps and pristine beaches, as well as a dizzying array of flora and fauna. Research scientists uncovered 50 new species of plants and animals in the Forja Mountain region in 2005. But despite its appearance as a tropical paradise, the reality for those living there could not be more different. A former Dutch colony, West Papua gained independence in 1961, but Indonesia invaded the following year. The UN oversaw a plebiscite on August 22 1969 but out of a population of 800,000 people, only 1000 tribal elders were allowed to vote. Many later told how the Indonesian military had forced them at gunpoint to vote in favour of integration. Some international human-rights observers estimate that almost 400,000 Papuans have lost their lives in atrocities committed by the Indonesian military. MOSCOW: The ship has been found, the crew has been saved, and the pirates have been arrested. But the mystery surrounding the Malteseregistered and Russian-crewed Arctic Sea is, if anything, deeper than ever. The Russian navy arrested eight men yesterday for what may be the first case of piracy in European waters since the 17th century. The Russian Defence Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, said that the group – citizens of Russia, Estonia and Latvia – had hijacked the ship off Sweden in July, and forced it to sail to Africa. But experts have expressed doubt over Moscow’s explanation. And this week the Malta Maritime Authority finally admitted what has been suspected for several days: that the ship “had never really disappeared”. “The movements of the Arctic Sea were always known for several Doubts cast on Russia’s Arctic Sea ‘rescue’ Baghdad rocked by bombings days, notwithstanding reports that the ship had disappeared,” Reuters quoted the Authority saying. “There was consensus among the investigating authorities... not to disclose any sensitive information [so as] not to jeopardise the life and safety of the persons on board and the integrity of the ship.” It was an “explanation” that left behind almost as many unanswered questions as before. The methods and motivations of the hijackers remain unclear, and rumours that the ship had a secret cargo persist. The Arctic Sea departed from Finland with a cargo of timber on 21 July. Three days later, the crew were reportedly attacked in the Baltic by masked men masquerading as Swedish drugs police, speaking English with an accent, who tied them up, beat them and questioned them about drugs. It is allegedly these men who have been arrested for hijacking the ship, although it had earlier been reported that the men left the Arctic Sea after 12 hours on board. It is also unclear why Russian, Latvian and Estonian hijackers would speak to the Russian crew in English. The last radio contact from the ship came on 28 July, after it passed through shipping lanes between Britain and France and sailed out into the Atlantic. The ship was due to arrive in the Algerian port of Bejaia on 4 August to unload its timber cargo worth just over £1m. It never arrived. It wasn’t until eight days later however, on 12 August, that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the military to take “all necessary measures” to search for the ship. After a series of strange and contradictory sightings and denials, it was announced on Monday afternoon that the Russian navy had rescued the ship 12 hours before. The Arctic Sea was 300 miles off Cape Verde, Fill out this form or nominate online: www.sagreat.com.au Call for Nominations Nominations are now open for the 2009 South Australian of the Year Awards. Each year these Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of inspirational South Australians. Full name of nominee (i.e. individual, business): Contact details (if known): Address: Postcode: Telephone: Email: Nominate for South Australian of the Year Award Nominate for Young South Australian of the Year Award (29 years and under): AND /OR nominate for the South Australian of the Year Award categories: Arts Business Environment Health Community Sport Education * Nomination in the South Australian of the Year and Young South Australian of the Year categories is not mandatory. Please note: There are no public nominations for the 2009 SA Great Tourism Award and 2009 SA Great Science Award. Winners will be determined through a partnership with the South Australian Tourism Commission and the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology. You may attach supporting documentation for this nomination, maximum two A4 sheets. Eligibility & selection criteria details are available on our website www.sagreat.com.au Name of person making the nomination: Day telephone: Signature To nominate, fill in this form and post to: SA Great Level 9, 90 King William Street, Adelaide SA 5000 or fax (08) 8211 8700 Enquiries: T 8211 8111 E reception@sagreat.com.au Email: 2009 Awards Closing date of Nominations: Monday 5 October, 2009 How has the nominee demonstrated excellence in their field of expertise? What’s been the nominee’s outstanding achievement/s of the last 12 months? Why is the nominee a role model/inspirational to South Australians? thousands of miles from its original destination. So far there has been no inkling of who the hijackers are or what their motive may have been. Only their nationalities are known. Russian officials said questioning of the men was continuing aboard the Ladny, the Russian vessel that carried out the “rescue mission”. Some analysts suggest that the disinformation admitted yesterday by the Maltese might be happening again now. Conspiracy theorists in Russia even speculate that Russian authorities knew all along where the ship – with a possible secret cargo – was located, and only had to “rescue” it and come up with a cover story when the world’s attention became focused on the vessel. One outstanding mystery is why, if the ship was hijacked on July 24, none of the crew was able to get the word out before contact was lost a few days later. BAGHDAD: Up to 100 people are feared dead in a wave of co-ordinated explosions across Baghdad. A massive truck bomb outside Iraq’s Foreign Ministry near the secure Green Zone, knocked out concrete slabs and windows and left a mass of charred cars outside. It was the deadliest attack in Iraq so far this year and marked a major challenge to the control of Baghdad. A steady escalation of violence following the June 30 withdrawal of American troops from urban areas has heightened fears that government troops are not ready to provide security. The Independent Weekly August 21 - 27, 2009 11 www.independentweekly.com.au